The Pittsburgh Steelers struggled to find much consistency at the quarterback position throughout most of the 2023-24 season. And this could lead to them making a big making a big move at the position this offseason, according to longtime owner Art Rooney.
Rooney appeared on KDKA News (CBS Pittsburgh) on Tuesday, where he was asked about potentially making a move at the quarterback position this offseason if the price is right.
He said that the team will not be “closing the door” on any possibilities in response.
“We’re not closing the door on anything as we sit here in the first week of February,” Rooney declared. “We need to go through a lot of evaluations. We’ll consider every alternative and take the necessary action to improve in the upcoming season.
BREAKING: Steelers President Art Rooney II tells the legend @kdpomp that the Steelers are NOT closing the door on a quarterback trade. (i.e. Justin Fields) pic.twitter.com/5Rx8lphYT0 — Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) February 7, 2024
Kenny Pickett, a second-year quarterback for the Steelers, started the season as the starter. However, a string of injuries coupled with patchy performance forced veteran backup Mason Rudolph to assume the starting role close to the conclusion of the year.
After Pickett was well enough to play again, controversy developed, but he did not wind up starting for the Steelers against the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card game.
This quote from Rooney isn’t exactly all that much of a surprise considering Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said last month that there will be a competition for the starting job this coming offseason. Still, it is very interesting to hear this from Rooney because Pickett is so young in his NFL career. It could be argued that he at least deserves one more year as the team’s starter to prove himself.
On the other hand, the Steelers are clearly a team that could be just a quarterback away from being a true contender in the AFC. A number of quarterbacks such as Kirk Cousins or Justin Fields could become available this offseason as potential targets for the Steelers. And it seems like there will at least be a discussion in the Pittsburgh front office about potentially going to get an available quarterback option to compete for the starting job.
